I Won't Let You Change Your Fate
June 27th, 12:45 PM Wildomar, Murdoc's Detective Agency AM Omniance: Murdoc: He's finishing his sandwich, balling up the wrapper and throwing in the garbage bin. Well you passed the first test. Went and got me a sandwich, got the right order, and you didn't fret or give me any lip about it. He wipes his desk off a bit with a napkin and throws it away. Since we're on a case now you'll be getting an hourly wage. Fifteen dollars an hour for every hour you're working on a case. If you are instrumental in solving a case, you get a bonus. AM Arbi: Ricky: He crosses his arms and nods a bit, liking how much they're being payed right off the bat. AM Omniance: Odie: So what's the case then? Murdoc: Girl called Mandy Lane went missing. He look from Odie to Ricky. Heard she crashed a party of yours. Not going to be a problem is it? AM Arbi: Ricky: It's never been a problem before. AM Omniance: Murdoc: He looks at Ricky for a moment. ...Alright. The front door to the building opens. He leans in his chair, looking out his office door. Ezekiel, that you? Ezekiel: Yeah. Murdoc: You're late! Ezekiel: There's a storm outside, traffic was terrible. He walks into Murdoc's office, dripping wet. Murdoc: Huh. Let's roll we're on a case. He gets up and grabs his coat and hat. Odie: When do I get to shoot someone? Ezekiel raises at eyebrow at Odie. AM Arbi: Ricky: He follows Murdoc without acknowledging Ezekiel. AM Omniance: Ezekiel: Wait they're coming with us? He watches Odie and Ricky follow Murdoc out. After a second he runs up ahead of them as they walk out the front. Murdoc: Yeah, summer work. Ezekiel: What? Two more people? He looks at Ricky and then whispers. That one has a demonic arm! Murdoc: He's the muscle. He lights a cigar. Ezekiel: I'm the muscle! They walk outside, it's pouring rain in sheets and it's very dark, almost like it's nighttime. Murdoc: He's got bigger muscles. Let's go. They all walk towards Murdoc's car. Lucas: He rolls down the window of the jeep. Hey you guys coming to the arcade? Odie: We're on the beat, call ya later! He smiles and does a double thumbs up. Lucas: ...Already? Alright... Seeya I guess. He starts up the jeep as he looks at his brother and shrugs. They pull out into the street and drive off. Murdoc: They pile into the car, with Ezekiel sitting in front with Murdoc and Odie and Ricky sitting in the back. You guys eighteen? He starts up the car looking into the rear-view mirror at Ricky and Odie. AM Arbi: Ricky: Seventeen. AM Omniance: Odie: I am also seventeen. Murdoc: Well you're eighteen when you're workin with me. He pulls out on the street. Odie: I got fake IDs to prove that we're twenty-one if that's what you need us to be. Murdoc: He looks in the rearview at Odie for a moment. Like'n you already kid. About twenty minutes later they're driving in Lake Elsinore, near a large cemetery. It's raining so heavily that the roads are almost becoming shallow streams over water. There's flashes of lightning in the distance. Murdoc pulls into the cemetery and parks. Murdoc: Alright, follow me. He lights another cigar as he gets out of the car. Everyone gets out and follows him towards a large chapel-like building at the center of the cemetery. Once they get inside he starts explaining. There's catacombs under this cemetery, and a bar built inside. Bunch supernatural whatever hang out there. Witches, vamps, cultists, you know the drill. Different day different scum, you follow? He leads them to the side of the chapel and he slides open a secret door that leads down into a stone passage of stairs. Now. I have a contact in this bar, and it just so happens that I am banned from entering it. They're walking down a long narrow hallway, lit by torches. So here's how this is going to work. Ezekiel, you and Ricky are going to get into a fight. Ezekiel sighs. I want you two to beat the living hell outta the bouncer, and whatever else shows up, alright? Me and Odie will be going 'round back and getting in while you're causing a distraction. Simple enough, right? I just need about twenty minutes. AM Arbi: Ricky: Twenty minutes... you sure you don't want us to just kill the guy? AM Omniance: Murdoc: He pauses in thought. So you're not against killin then huh? ...If he gives you too much trouble, do him in if you have to. This place if full of some of the lowest low-lifes you'll ever meet. AM Arbi: Ricky: Alright. He pulls out a small metal cross from his pocket and squeezes it in his hand. His demonic arm falls apart into ashes that instantly vanish in tiny embers. AM Omniance: Odie: So what am I doing boss? Murdoc: You'll be keep'n watch while I talk to my contact. Odie: You want me to do one of those bird whistles or someth- Murdoc: What? No. Just yell... He shakes his head as the hallway ends and they walk out into a larger crypt area full of pillars. About twenty yards ahead there's a few torches burning blue and a large metal door. Outside of it is a large man in a suit. He whispers. That's the guy. You two deal with him, me and Odie are goin 'round the back way, we'll be meet back here in twenty. If we're not back come lookin for us, alright? He pats Odie's shoulder. Let's move. He and Odie walk off into the shadows and disappear behind one of the stone pillars. AM Arbi: Ricky: He walks up towards the bouncer without waiting for Ezekiel. AM Omniance: Ezekiel: Hey! He stumbles with his baseball bag for a moment before pulling out his bat and a baseball, he hangs back a bit out of sight to see what Ricky's going to do, as the bat might give them away. Bouncer: As Ricky gets nearer to him he can see that the man is a large overweight, but clearly very strong, bald black man. He looks over at Ricky and crosses his arms. You have an invitation to The Minotaur? His voice is loud and deep, echoing through the crypt. AM Arbi: Ricky: He continues walking up towards the bouncer, stopping three feet away from him and looking up at him. Yeah, I do. AM Omniance: Bouncer: Well let's see it then. He holds out one of his hands. AM Arbi: Ricky: He continues to stare up at him before raising his hand and placing the cross on his palm, lowering his arm afterwards. As the bouncer looks down at the cross Ricky's demon arm manifests as he raises it up, grabbing the man's face and igniting his entire arm on fire before pushing him back into the metal door. His burning fingers incinerate his eyeballs and blind him almost instantly along with leaving third degree burns across his entire face. AM Omniance: Bouncer: Ahh! You little shit! As he grabs at his face with one hand he wings with the other, with a swift left hook that pounds him in the chest and launches him away. AM Arbi: Ricky: He moves out of the way, easily dodging the blind bouncer's swing before he grabs the bouncer's suit and starts punching his head back into the metal door, the demonic arm beginning to chip away at his face as it disfigures him. AM Omniance: Bouncer: After a few more slams the door breaks in and he falls back into the bar, falling onto his back. His face is smoldering. He lets out a loud gasp and then stops moving. Ezekiel: He's a few feet from Ricky, Holy shit... He looks at Ricky, a bit freaked out. AM Arbi: Ricky: He's breathing a little harder than he should be after only punching the bouncer and feels a slight pain radiating from his human stump of an arm. ...I need a drink. He walks into The Minotaur and looks around, checking to see where the bar counter is. AM Omniance: There's an assortment of tables around a large floor, a long bar is off to the left. The interior looks like something out of an old mansion, with everything done in a gothic silver and black style. There's a large bull statue in the back that seems to be overlooking the entire floor. There's various people sitting around in the booths and tables, many of them wearing dark clothing like hoods or large hats to hide their appearance. Bartender: She's a woman in her early thirties, but still looks attractive. She has long blonde hair that drapes over one eye and down the side of her right shoulder. She's cleaning out a glass. Tell the manager another one bit the dust. She looks at Ricky as he walks up to the bar. You look like you need a drink. AM Arbi: Ricky: He sits down at one of the bar stools and nods, thinking of what he wants to drink for a moment before the pain in his arm radiates out again. It feels sharp, like something stabbing him. Jack Daniel's on the rocks... and get me a bag of ice while you're at it. AM Omniance: Bartender: She smirks and walks down the bar away from him a bit, she pulls out a plastic bag and uses a scoop to put some ice in it. She slides it down the bar towards him and they moves to get the Jack off the shelf behind her to pour the drink. AM Arbi: Ricky: He looks at the bag of ice and then at his demonic arm before standing up and walking back to the bouncer, grabbing the cross in his big hand before walking back to the bar counter. He motions for Ezekiel to sit with him as he holds the bag of ice on his arm stump with the cross in his hand so the firey arm doesn't melt the ice. AM Omniance: Ezekiel: He walks up and sits next to Ricky, never having even been in a bar before. He props his bat up against the stool next to him. Bartender: She walks over and sets the drink on the table. Can I get you anything slugger? Ezekiel: He shakes his head. Bartender: She looks at Ricky for a moment and then walks away. AM Arbi: Ricky: He grabs his glass and takes a drink for a few seconds, Ezekiel can tell he's still in pain but that he's holding it back. It's never been this bad before... AM Omniance: Ezekiel: You beat the hell outta that guy pretty bad... He looks back at the smoldering Bouncer, who is being dragged away from two or three other guys in suits to be disposed of. You burned his face off. AM Arbi: Ricky: He looks at him for a moment before taking another drink. I'll let you handle it next time. AM Omniance: Karen: She sits down at the bar next to Ricky. Vodka tonic, with lemon. The bartender moves to make her drink as she shakes her umbrella out a bit and drops it to the ground, setting her purse on the seat next to her. She pulls out her a cigarette and puts it in her holder and starts smoking. Ezekiel: He looks at the woman for a moment, and then looks at the other bar stools, she could've sat somewhere else, but chose to sit right next to Ricky. Karen: She mutters to herself. Going to be a long few days... She breaths out a stream of smoke. AM | Edited 2:06:04 AM Arbi: Ricky: He looks to the side at the woman sitting next to him before he puts the bag of ice back down to grab his glass again and drink down the rest of the Jack Daniels. AM Omniance: Bartender: She puts the vodka tonic down in front of her. Karen: Aren't you one the guys that roams around with those twins? She looks over at Ricky. The one with the... Arm. AM Arbi: Ricky: He looks to the side again. Who's asking? AM Omniance: Karen: A friend, I hope. She reaches into her purse. Saw Murdoc's car out by the chapel. I'm guessing you're here with him? She pulls out a folded up paper. Went to his office, but he wasn't there. AM Arbi: Ricky: He's here to talk to an old friend. He glances down at the paper in her hands. AM Omniance: Karen: Found some information for him. Can I count on you to get it to him? She slides the paper towards Ricky. AM Arbi: Ricky: Yeah but I'm not his secretary. He grabs the paper. Don't make a habit out of this. AM Omniance: Karen: Hah... She finishes her drink. Tell the twins I said hi. She grabs her umbrella, puts a few dollars on the bar and walks out. Ezekiel: She didn't even talk to me... He sighs. Odie: Because you didn't order anything to drink. He's sitting on the other side of Ezekiel suddenly. Murdoc: He's standing at the front, just outside the door and yells in. Let's get outta this dump. A few minutes later they're walking out of the chapel. Murdoc: My contact said that you two check out. I had to make sure you weren't workin an angle. He looks at Ricky. You understand. AM Arbi: Ricky: He nods a bit and takes out the folded up paper. A friend of yours gave this to me, said she found some information. AM Omniance: Murdoc: He grabs the paper, stopping at the front door to the chapel. He opens it. ...This... Could be bad. He folds up the paper. Ezekiel: What'd it say? Murdoc: Was a location. He pushes open the door and stops. Between the rain there's a quiet groan. ...Hear that? There's another few groans. ...The hell is that? Odie: Sounds like Zombies. He shrugs and looks at Ricky. AM Omniance: Murdoc continues out into the cemetery, pulling his shotgun from a holster hidden under his coat. The rain and the darkness from the storm makes it difficult to see more than a few feet away. It's so dark out now that it's becoming apparent that this might not be a natural storm, as it's as dark as night. Murdoc: ...It does sound like Zombies. Odie: ...Wait, seriously? AM Arbi: Ricky: He slides the cross back into his pocket and reforms his demonic arm as he looks around. AM Omniance: A Zombie flies through the air and slams into the side of the chapel. Karen: Her voice can be heard from somewhere out in the darkness. Get back! There's a flash of green-blue mist that streaks across the cemetery, illuminating the darkness as it does, revealing shambling figures slowly moving between the tombstones. It's recognizable to Ricky as the same life-draining substance the Calaveras used. Murdoc: Necromancy. He aims his shotgun out into the darkness as the bolt slams into a tombstone, Karen can be seen taking cover behind it for a moment before the necroplasmic bolt fizzles out and the light vanishes. Everyone move. We secure the woman! He quickly heads into the darkness, leaving the safety of the chapel. Another few bolts of necroplasm race across the graveyard, looking at their source Rick and Odie see a robed figure throwing them. AM Arbi: Ricky: I think I see the necromancer... He runs behind one of the tombstones, getting closer to the dark figure. AM Omniance: Odie: We got this! He runs up with Ricky, taking cover behind a tombstone nearby. Murdoc: Ezekiel, you're with me. Karen: She calls out from the darkness. Over here! Ezekiel: Ezekiel slams through one of the zombies, as he does hit bat lights up with sparks and the zombie blasts apart into ash. We're almost to you! Murdoc blasts a zombie with his shotgun, launching it away and into a granite obelisk. Odie: He looks from them to Ricky. You alright man? You're lookin kinda sick. AM | Edited 2:53:20 AM Arbi: Ricky: Yeah... I'm fine. He looks to his side, seeing a zombie walking up to bite him. He reaches out and grabs his neck with his human hand before it can get close enough to hurt him. His other fist catches on fire and he uses all his strength to punch the zombie's head until he starts cracking the skull and damaging its brain, after a moment the zombie falls over. He looks back at Odie, wondering why he didn't warn him. AM Omniance: Odie: It's dark! Sorry! He conjures a mace made of ice. Want one? He turns to keep an eye out for more zombies, after a moment he slams one in the knee and it falls to the ground, and then he reforms the mace into a sword and pierces it down through the head. He quickly pulls back behind the tombstone as a bolt of Necroplasm streaks by. Holy... Shit Jesus... He gulps. AM | Edited 3:14:37 AM Arbi: Ricky: He runs up to the next tombstone and just barely avoids a bolt of necroplasm that zooms past him. He knows if he leaves cover he'll get shot at again and thinks of how he's gonna get close enough to deal with the necromancer without being shot at. As he looks around he notices the steam coming off his demonic arm and he gets an idea. He closes his eyes and concentrates, making the fire around his arm even stronger and causing steam to fill the area around him. He uses this oppurtunity to run across the cemetary without being seen, running towards the necromancer and tackling him down to the ground. His firey arm allows him to see who it is in the dark. AM Omniance: Necromancer: Inside the hood he can see that it's an old man. He begins to conjure a bolt of Necroplasm in his hand to fire at Ricky, but suddenly a large hammer slams into it and crush it with the loud crack of bones. AHHHHHHHHHH! Odie: He's breathing heavily, as the hammer was really heavy. AM | Edited 3:15:08 AM Arbi: Ricky: He gets off the old man and steps down on his other arm so he can't cast anything else with it. AM Omniance: Necromancer: You will be consumed by darkness! Odie: He pulls up his hammer and swings it with all his strength, slamming another oncoming zombie. It falls to ground and splatters in the mud, it's clearly way too heavy for him. He calls out. We got the guy! He coughs, breathing heavily. Murdoc: Don't kill him! There's a shotgun blast in the distance and they can see Ezekiel homerun another zombie into ashes as he and Murdoc make their way towards Odie and Ricky. After a few more kills they walk into view. Keep a watch, there's gotta be about half a dozen more out there. He points his shotgun at the necromancer. Get talkin. Necromancer: You don't know what's coming! Murdoc: So tell me. Necromancer: He just starts laughing. Murdoc: Break some more bones. Odie tries to lift the hammer, but can't again. AM Arbi: Ricky: He squeezes his demonic fist and it flares up for a second. Talk or I'll make sure to burn those bones to ashes so even the next necromancer can't bring you back... AM Omniance: Necromancer: He squirms. She's coming for you, because of what you did! Or... More accurately what you didn't do... Haha... Heh... His eyes go wide as he seems to see something. No-wait! Dark Figure: Her voice can be heard barely audible over the heavy rain, and only Ricky recognizes it. You have said more than you needed. Shadowy hands burst up from the ground and pull the Necromancer down into the mud. Things will be as they should have been... AM | Edited 3:25:29 AM Arbi: Ricky: He backs away when he sees the shadowy hands, watching them pull the old man down into the wet earth. He quickly looks around to see where the voice is coming from. AM | Edited 3:34:16 AM Omniance: Dark Figure: She reaches out from behind Ricky and caresses his cheek suddenly. I won't let you change your fate... 8A surge of energy pours through him, and he suddenly feels better. His arm elementally shifts and begins arc with electricity that pops and crackles as raindrops land on it. Time is running out... Ezekiel: He sees her and moves, swinging his bat through where she should be, but hits nothing but rain and air as she's already gone. AM Arbi: Ricky: He looks down at his wooden demon arm, seeing the electricity running through it. The sharp pain is gone and he feels better than he did when he first woke up today. He smiles a bit. AM Omniance: Murdoc: She elemental shifted your arm. He keeps looking around, like he expects her to return. That must be the woman Mandy Lane told her friends about. Odie: Where'd she go? He's bent over with his hands on his knees. AM Arbi: Ricky: She can come and go without a trace... she's long gone by now. AM Omniance: Murdoc: You seen her before? Odie: He raises an eyebrow at Ricky. AM Arbi: Ricky: Yeah, I'll tell about it on the way back... let's get out of this rain first. He starts making his way back to the parking lot. AM Omniance: Murdoc: We're not heading back to the office yet... Let's get moving. Let someone else deal with the Zombies that are still shambling about. He quickly moves back towards the car as a flash of lightning happens. AM Omniance: About ten minutes later they're in the car, all of them soaking wet as they drive down the road. They've passed three car accidents already. Murdoc: This isn't a normal storm. The streets are quickly becoming shallow rivers. Never seen anything like this before. They turn onto Baxter, Ricky and Odie know where they are as this road goes passed their housing tract, however Murdoc drives by and continues up the road towards the mountains. Ezekiel: ...We're not going where I think we're going... Murdoc: 'fraid so. He turns on the radio. Radio: A woman's voice comes in, it's partially staticy. A sudden thunderstorm has swept across the County of Riverside. Meteorologists are saying that the sudden appearance of the storm was the result of two fronts converging. We're receiving record rainfall and law enforcement recommends that you stay in your homes until the storm is over. As they drive over the overpass over the freeway, Ricky and Ezekiel watch a large semi-truck slide out of control and into the center divide, crashing loudly. Radio: We are getting flash flood warnings in Lake Elsinore, Wildomar, Temecula, and Sun City. There are car accidents on Palomar, Clinton Keith, Diamond Drive, and the 15 freeway, avoid these areas if at all possible. Once again, stay in doors and whether the storm if possible. Odie: He looks at Ricky with obvious worry. AM | Edited 3:53:47 AM Arbi: Ricky: He looks from Odie to Murdoc. What's going on, detective? You're not telling us something. AM Omniance: Murdoc: Because I don't know yet. Once we get to the top of the mountain... He turns off the road and drives up a muddy dirt road. ...I might. Odie: He starts looking around, suddenly recognizing where they're going. ...I... I... Murdoc: He drives the car quickly so it doesn't get stuck in the mud. You what kid? Odie: ...Don't want to be here. Murdoc: He turns around the bend and drives up a long path to the top of the mountain. Sorry kid... But I have to check something. He stops the car suddenly. Stay here if you need to. You other two are with me. He gets out of the car, walking up the rest of the road. AM | Edited 4:02:14 AM Arbi: Ricky: He looks out the car window, the place is unfamiliar to him. He stays back in the car for a moment to ask Odie a question. ...What is this place? AM | Edited 4:02:51 AM Omniance: Odie: He just shakes his head quietly. He has his eyes closed, and looks like he wants to hug his bear. I want to go home... Murdoc: As they walk up the hill he explains. It's a place of power. Many cults use it for rituals of... Varying types. Found it 'bout half a year back when I was investigating the twin's case... This is where they, and your other friend back there, became entangled in this demonic underworld... Ezekiel: That was disgusting... AM | Edited 4:05:38 AM Arbi: Ricky: He's following behind Murdoc and Ezekiel. ...Lucas told me about this place before but he never wants to talk about what happened here that night. AM Omniance: Murdoc: I was tracking a local cult, Cult of the Dark Paradise, lead me to this place. When I got here, there were about twenty bodies strewn about the peak of this hill up ahead, twenty bodies in about two-hundred pieces... Still don't know what happened that night. Something swept through this place like death itself and took down twenty demonologists or high-level magic users like they were cutting grass. Could've been the twins, could've been Odie. Not enough evidence to know who did it. One of the most gruesome things I've seen on the job. Took the county coroner four months to collect all the pieces and put them back together... He pulls out his shotgun. And now Karen says someone was using the site again last night... AM | Edited 4:12:35 AM Arbi: Ricky: That does sound disgusting... He looks around in the unnatural darkness of daytime, thinking he might see a dead body soon. AM Omniance: Murdoc: They get to the top of the hill, but it's so dark they can't see far, so he keeps walking, keeping an eye out for anything strange as they continues forwards Murdoc stops. ...Son of a bitch. There's two wooden tables, and the bodies of two people on them. Ricky recognizes one of them as someone that went to their school, a sophomore he's seen a few times, but he never knew his name or reall spoke with him. There's a dagger stuck in his chest. The other table is the same, a teenager who looks like a freshman, probably only fourteen or fifteen years old, a similar dagger stabbed into his chest. Murdoc keeps moving forwards, more quickly, as Ezekiel stops to look at the boys on the tables. AM Arbi: Ricky: He stops beside Ezekiel. I've seen that guy at school before... AM Omniance: Ezekiel: He shakes his head. This guy was in my agriculture class... Ricky can't really see it, but he's going to be sick. He runs off and vomits somewhere in the darkness. Murdoc: He can hear him up ahead. ...This is bad. AM Arbi: Ricky: He catches up to Murdoc. What'd you find? AM Omniance: Murdoc: He pulls out a flashlight and turns it on, illuminating a big rock. There's skin attached to it, shriveled and empty like a rubber suit. It's been divided down the middle, like something vivisected the body and crawled out of it. He moves the flashlight to shine higher up. Blonde hair... He moves closer and stands on his toes, nudging the neck to pull it away from the rock a bit. There's a small black shape tattooed into the back of the neck, it's distorted. Mandy Lane.